There are as varied ways to break down a writing project, as there are varied candy brands! Some people will break their writing project into big chunks of information while others may break them down in smaller yet several chunks.
How a project is broken down is also determined by the writing strategies acquired by the writer, some of us will jump in with both feet while others will test the waters first. So with that said I’d like to share some of my strategies with you on breaking down my own writing projects. These steps may work for you as well.
Let’s first figure out the main points of your writing project, these are:
What’s the purpose of your writing project? Is the purpose of your project to inform, to persuade, or to entertain? Is the purpose of your project for inclusion in a trade journal, for peer review, for political or educational public engagement? By first defining the purpose of your writing, you will discover that it’s a topic you abhor, a topic you are passionate about, or a topic you feel neutral about. This in itself is a big motivator or a huge stress producer.
Who is your target audience? Is your audience your employer, a prospective client, an academic professor? Or is it a small group in a business setting? Will you use technical lingo, slang, formal, informal, or refined vocabulary? Will you create long and informative sentences or will you write short and abrupt sentences that get right to the point? By finding out for whom you’ll be writing, also referred to as your target audience, you will then decide what type of vocabulary (register) you will use.
What’s the deadline? For me, as a writer, the most important element in my writing assignments is the deadline. When is the project due, exactly? Some writers don’t place as much emphasis on deadlines till after they’ve started, but that’s only because we operate at different levels and have our own individual styles, the deadline may be just as important to you as the next person. But, it is still very important.
There’s no right or wrong way for breaking down a writing project, but these three main points have helped me break down bigger chunks into smaller ones. Therefore allowing me to work with manageable components and come up with strategies to deal with a big project. The above strategies have helped me, and others, end up with successful and well-done writing projects.
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